"Wooyoung." Seonghwa said, his voice soft, floating gently through the air. "What a beautiful name. I'm not surprised you are the crown prince with how spectacular you look. Especially your tail. It's different from the others."

It was true, and always had been. Not many merfolk were blessed with scales of two different colors, but that wasn't what determined royal blood. The more extravagant the tail, with extra fins and designs, was what made royalty stand out.

Although Seonghwa didn't need to know that.

Wooyoung knew he could continue to play the game by saying as little as possible, especially if he didn't say anything when Seonghwa didn't ask him a question. He bowed his head, afraid of what the sudden change in his captor's tone meant.

"What is it about royal blood that makes it different from the others?"

"It has a deeper connection to the magic." Wooyoung scrunched his nose a little. That should have been obvious.

"Change." The order was sharp and to the point.

"I can't." Wooyoung answered quickly.

Seonghwa grabbed his chin once more and yanked up. The move was so fast and harsh that Wooyoung's neck popped, making him flinch. "Excuse me?"

"I-I need time to rec-cover. I can only use that strong of m-magic for so long." This time the merman lifted a hand to grab Seonghwa's wrist. His jaw hurt so much...

A deep hum answered him before Seonghwa stood, pushing Wooyoung aside at the same time. "Well that changes things. I don't have time to wait for that, so we will just have to start with other things." He walked over to the wall and pressed a button. "Doctor, get ready to begin the extraction."

The doors flew open once more and several men came in. They moved quickly to surround Wooyoung, then worked together to lift him off the ground and carry him into their lab.

Wooyoung paled when he saw it looked very similar to the one back at the aquarium...

"Please-" He started to squirm, trying to dislodge himself from the hands holding him. "You said-"

"I said no harm would come to the others." Seonghwa said from behind him. "But I need something only you can give me." A deep chuckle followed before he continued, "Which I'm very much looking forward to seeing how yours will differ."

Instead of being placed in a pool like before, Wooyoung was strapped to a wide table. Several belts were tightened around his tail, making it nearly impossible for him to move it. His hands were yanked above his head and secured, stretching his body to the fullest. He was pulled so tight, he could barely arch his back off the table.

"Thank you for giving yourself to me." Seonghwa leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I look forward to spending the rest of what is going to be my very long life with you."

Wooyoung didn't understand what he meant by that. He tried to turn his head, but all focus on Seonghwa's statement was gone the second a scale was ripped from his tail.

His scream echoed in the room. It turned to one of frustration when his attempt to pull away was thwarted by a searing pain in his wrists from his natural reflex to try and pull his hands down.

"How many, Sir?" A woman asked.

"Start with ten. And get some blood too." Seonghwa said. He was still standing by Wooyoung's head. His fingers started to stroke through the merman's purple hair, as if trying to comfort him or ease him through the pain.

And if it were any other situation, Wooyoung would have probably felt good. He had always loved it when San rubbed his head like that.

Yet each scale yanked from his tail just reminded him of the awful situation he was in.

By the time the humans were done, thick, red blood oozed from his wounds and dripped onto the floor beneath him. The sounds was joined by his soft sniffles and whimpers, as well as the gentle shushing coming from Seonghwa.

"See? That wasn't so bad. You're doing a good thing, little Wooyoung." The man's deep voice unfortunately reminded Wooyoung a lot of Mingi when the prince was trying to console him... They both had that rumbling, slightly gruff sound to it that made him melt.

And right now he hated it. He hated that this man's sick, maniacal plot was working.

"We just need a little more from you, then you can rest. We will get you some yummy food, too."

Before Wooyoung could fully register what was being said, something sharp poked into his his arm. And into one of the new holes in his tail.

Another scream filled the room and every muscled in his body strained against his bonds.

"How much?" One of the men in white asked.

Without looking away from the merman beneath him, Seonghwa answered, "Four."

Wooyoung didn't know what that meant. His mind reeled with what his poor excuse for an imagination thought could be happening to him. Which wasn't much... All he could think about was how little he knew about humans still...

And how awful they could really be.

As pain continued to shoot through his tail, Wooyoung began to understand why his people remained hidden from the world above.

San, Yeosang, and Jongho were the only exceptions.

He hoped they were ok...

Some time later, the pain started to grow dull. In fact, almost all feeling in his body was gone.

Except for Seonghwa's fingers in his hair.

For whatever reason their presence was something that refused to go away. "Such a good boy."

Suddenly the pressure on his body released all at once, causing his arms to flop uselessly over the sides of the table. He exhaled sharply at the same time, blinking up at the ceiling as fresh tears spilled from his eyes.

"Gentle with him." Seonghwa stepped aside to allow the others to lift the merman up once more. They slowly took him back to his tank, walking up to the platform and slowly tilting him so he slid from their hands and into the water with barely a splash.

Wooyoung had no fight left in him. He let his body sink to the sandy base, wincing only slightly at the impact. One small blessing came from how the water had naturally cradled him, turning him so his back was to the main room behind him.

The less he had to look at Seonghwa, the better.

A short time later, a comforting sensation blanketed his tail, indicating that more magic had been added to the water. He could already feel it starting to heal him.

Ironically, this confused Wooyoung more than anything else he had encountered.

How had Seonghwa been able to harvest magic? Plain, pure magic? From what he knew, magic needed some kind of a vessel or a spell in order to contain it, like a jewel or weapon, or even a living body like with merfolk.

Long ago, humans had been capable of harnessing magic without a vessel. It was when their heart turned dark, fed by greed and hunger and lust, that magic had decided to leave them. Or, that's what Wooyoung had been taught growing up.

He could see it, though... Most of his experiences with humans proved the old stories right.

Humans didn't deserve magic if they treated other creatures like this...

Wooyoung curled in on himself, wishing he had something to hide behind. He felt so vulnerable and alone. It was honestly more draining than he'd like to admit.

Merfolk weren't meant to be isolated like this... that's why they always lived close to large populations of coral. They needed the sea creatures around them to fuel their own curiosity and kind hearts. It was also why he had been in an ok position at the aquarium. At least there he had had friends.

A sudden splash drew his attention. He rolled onto his stomach so he could prop himself up in his arms, and came face to face with Hongjoong.

The boy's face was creased with pain and sorrow. He clutched his clipboard tightly to his chest for a few seconds before pressing one of his hands to the glass.

Movement drew Wooyoung's gaze and he couldn't help but give a small gasp.

A light almost golden colored octopus was slowly sinking in the water. Its head was about the size of Wooyoung's hand, making its arms about the length of his arm stretched out.

He watched as it surveyed its surroundings cautiously, spinning a little to look in all directions.

Then it focused on him when he slowly moved into a sitting position. The glass was cold and hard against his back, but right now he didn't care.

The octopus hovered in place for a few seconds, assessing the situation for any possible threats. One arm slowly extended toward the merman, who mirrored the motion with one hand.

Wooyoung smiled when he felt it wrap around one of his fingers. "Hello." He whispered to what he now sensed was a female.

With one last look, the octopus darted forward, wrapping five more of her arms around his own. The other two came up to cup his cheeks. He cradled her in both hands and brought her to his chest, holding her close.

She was scared. She didn't understand what had happened to her, but she did know what Wooyoung was. The instant trust there was apparent by the way she pressed into his skin, holding him tight.

It had been a long time since Wooyoung had really interacted with an octopus. They were usually shy creatures and hid away from others either in the sand or in caves, mostly by changing their color. This did lead to the more playful ones jumping out to scare anyone who passed by, but other than that they kept to themselves.

Because of this, he'd forgotten how stranger their suckers felt against his skin. They allowed the octopus to grip him tightly, securing herself in his hold, but she also showed a restrained grace about her because no marks were left behind.

"It's alright. I've got you." The merman whispered, nuzzling into the top of her head.

After a few minutes, the octopus started to unwind herself from Wooyoung's arm. She stretch down to settle on his tail, moving slowly as she inspected  his tail. Her skin changed to match the purple and red, giving her a pretty, vibrant color that suited her.

The tip of one arm traced one of the holes with incredibly light precision, reflecting all the care and concern radiating off the small creature. She did the same with all the others, covering them as best she could before wiggling back and forth to settle onto his lap.

Wooyoung bit his lip, thankful the water instantly absorbed any tears he may have started to shed again.

Trapped in a world full of cruel humans, he had been given the gift of a creature capable of showing compassion. It was the thing he needed most right now, second only to seeing San again, and he knew that would never happen.

At the thought of the gift, he looked at where Hongjoong had been standing.

He was gone.

Wooyoung leaned forward to try and look around the room, but his new friend tightened her grip, urging him to stay still for his own protection. From what he had seen, the room was empty.

Did... Did Hongjoong arrange this? Would he do something like that?

The idea seemed impossible. Why would the assistant to his captor, a truly vile man, do something nice for their new prize?

No, it didn't make sense... but Wooyoung wouldn't argue it.

He could already feel himself getting stronger, both from the magic and from the octopus. It was the thing he needed.

Hopefully Seonghwa wouldn't take her away, although Wooyoung knew they would both put up a fight if it came to that.

As if sensing his thoughts, his new friend shuddered and turned her head to look at him.

"Don't worry." Wooyoung smiled down at her snd stroked her head. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."